


To Have and to Hold

by Lilskippy



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-19 05:45:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4734776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilskippy/pseuds/Lilskippy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fleeing an angry mob and a lack of better options, Laura, Carmilla, LaFontaine, and Perry find themselves back at Silas to contend with threats old and new, a new semester, and fallout from all of the above.  Diverges immediately after the Christmas Special.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Any resemblance to the excellent season two is coincidental. Thanks for your interest!

_"Greetings, Silas! Your intrepid reporter has returned from the wilds to the land of the wifi signal."_

_The webcam swung from Laura's face to pan over the gates of the university in front of her, towering like an arch cut straight from craggy coral. On each side, an iron trident jabbed at the sky, held by dozens of hands jutting out of the crevices in the reef, while dozens of other hands grasped after it._

_"Does anyone now think the light at the top of the arch sort of looks like a lure?"_

_The camera shifted from LaFontaine's furrowed brow and back to the lamp hanging at the apex of that arch. It blinked on as the sun set._

_"'It devours all.'" The camera turned to Carmilla where she lounged against the gate. She pointed at the Latin text at the top. "What? That's what it says."_

_The camera panned back to consider the etched letters there before settling back on Laura, with LaFontaine and Perry standing a few feet behind._

_"You know, the University's brochure could have offered a translation. Dad and I just thought it meant this place was old and distinguished."_

_"Beware all ye who do not take high school Latin." LaFontaine chimed in, grinning until they caught Perry's look. "But, hey, on the plus side, I haven't felt any earthquakes, and I don't see any dead bodies or fires...."_

_Laura nodded. "Right. And no fish-fueled mobs--"_

_"Unlike the one behind us on just the other side of that mountain pass. Of course, if I'd had my druthers, the mob and my growling stomach could've both been taken care of rather--"_

_"Um, pretty sure it was because you took it on yourself to bite the mayor that we had a mob following us in the first place." Laura leveled Carmilla a look that softened as the brunette gave a shrug and a smile and came over to stand beside her, shouldering the blonde's backpack with ease. "Even though, I'll admit, it was pretty inconsiderate of them after you took care of Frau Homicide."_

_"Actually, Laura, I think Carmilla's right." Perry smiled quickly at the vampire's arched eyebrow before going on. "About this option being better than the angry individuals behind us, not the propriety of their mass murder." She brushed a little snow from LaFontaine's shoulder. "And anyway maybe everything's back to normal now. I mean, that could've happened, right?" Perry nodded to herself._

_The four of them all looked into the camera and behind it to the still and shadowed campus._

_"Or everybody's just d--"_

_Laura clapped a hand over Carmilla's mouth. "Oookay. So, anybody who'd rather turn around and deal with the maddening crowd, raise your hand." A beat. "Seeing no hands...."_

 


	2. Chapter Two

Laura snapped her computer shut and slipped it in the big pocket of her backpack. "Yessir, back to the old dorm room." She laced her fingers with Carmilla's.

None of them moved.

But then Perry squared her shoulders and gave LaFontaine a little half-hug, rubbing their arms. "It's cold, none of us have coats, and we could all use a shower. C'mon, Su-...LaFontaine." And so Perry was the first one of them to set foot back on campus.

LaFontaine and Laura glanced at each other. It _was_ cold. They _didn't_ have coats, just their Christmas sweaters, now very much worse for the wear. The shower part went without saying. LaFontaine grabbed their bag, shrugged, and hurried after their friend.

Which left Laura and Carmilla still there, holding hands under the gates.

The brunette's voice was low next to her. "Laura?"

"Hm?"

"We could still just turn around."

"And go where? I'm pretty sure you remember the same snowy pass and villagers that I do."

"Somewhere." The stars were coming out. The lamps along the campus pathways were turning on. The vampire's voice was a sigh. "'Let us go then, you and I, to where the evening spreads out against the sky....'" She trailed off.

Laura pulled Carmilla's hand up to lips and kissed it, giving her a small smile. "And anyway there's probably still people here. Danny and Kirsch could be here. We should at least see if they're okay. See if anyone needs our help."

"I'm sure _even they_ had the sense to leave when we did." A pause. "On second thought, maybe not." She saw Laura's eyeroll. "What? That was me agreeing with you that Paula Bunyon and her big blue ox might need you..." Carmilla rubbed Laura's cheek with her knuckle. "...tomorrow. After a shower and a bed that's not a sleeping bag." She saw Laura open her mouth and captured it in a quick kiss. Her voice dipped even lower. "Not that I haven't enjoyed the fact that circumstances have necessitated sharing, but huddling together for warmth wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I said I had better things to do."

Laura, who had felt her knees weaken a bit there -- from exhaustion or the whiskey-for-breakfast voice or the kiss -- could only smile as Carmilla, in her grimy grumpy cat sweater, led her through the gates and onto the pathway towards their dorm.

***

The old dorm turned out not to be an option, what with the caution tape around the perimeter, and the distinct, Pisa-tower list to the building. Plan B, as Laura reflected from her chin-deep position in the suds and warm water filling a claw-foot tub, was not so bad. One might even say an improvement, especially because Carmilla hadn't been in here yet to shed everywhere.

She heard Perry and LaFontaine at the sinks in the next room. Their voices faded as they went back through the door that led to their shower and bath and then to their room on the other side. It was quiet then. Carmilla had gone out earlier, but said she would be back. Laura closed her eyes. Carmilla knew all the best places on campus. This old dorm, more like a grand estate from the 1800s, probably about as old as the library right next door. It had been translated into student housing with some of its inappropriate decadence still intact: their rooms had been fitted with functional twin beds and there were the telltale torn corners of posters once been taped to the walls, but there were also deep seats in front of the large windows, a steep oak ceiling and stone walls. It looked like it would stand for a thousand years of earthquakes and angry demigods.

Of course Carmilla knew all the best places. Over the years, she'd probably had occasion to room with girls in every dorm on campus.

Laura quickly slid down and under the water and then came back up, wet and dripping, to stop the thought. Reaching blindly for the towel to dry her face, her hand encountered leather instead.

"Carm? Is that you? Laura cracked an eyelid open, wiping at the soap sliding down.

"I hope so." The brunette dried the suds from the other girl's face.

Laura opened both eyes then, finding dark brown ones watching her from where Carmilla perched on the stool next to the tub, towel in hand. Laura smiled at the incongruity of her outfit: the quilted velveteen vest in wine with rounded brass buttons (the closest thing Carmilla could find to black in their raid of the dorm's lost-and-found), paired with the black leather pants she hadn't been willing to give up, battered though they were, when faced with the other slim pickings. And Laura couldn't help but notice that the vampire's skin was not quite as pale as it had been before she'd left, the lips a little fuller. Carmilla saw the blonde's glance at her lips and moved to kneel, eyes fixated on Laura's lips until her own lips found them and both of their eyes closed into the kiss.

Laura groaned a little when Carmilla pulled away.

"I hoped you might enjoy the bath." Carmilla rested her chin on her folded arms on the porcelain rim and watched the other girl.

"It's incredible." Laura could see the flecks of snow dotting that dark mane. "You're incredible." She felt herself blush under the other girl's steady gaze and sunk down a little into the suds. She held up a hand, turning it this way and that, pretending to examine it. "And I'm pruny."

Carmilla stood up and held the towel wide open in front of her. Seeing the blonde's eyes widen, she arched an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I won't look." She smiled and averted her eyes as she heard Laura step out onto the rug and into the arms wrapping a towel around her.

***

A few rays of moonlight made their way through the clouds and into the dark room. Carmilla and Laura were curled together in the same small bed. Laura said she had gotten used to it during their brief sojourn off-campus. Carmilla hadn't offered any justification, just climbed in. In the dark, her fingers combing idly through blonde hair, she watched the exhausted girl's chest rise and fall under the oversized men's dress shirt she'd picked from that bin of discards. Carmilla watched Laura sleep and, determinedly, did not watch the other girl standing in the corner of the room: late teens, pale, with a little mole on her cheek.

 


	3. Chapter Three

Laura found LaFontaine at one of the pedestal sinks in the morning. The redhead nodded a greeting and grinned around toothbrush and foam, jaunty in their lost-and-found blue tuxedo shirt and cream trousers with suspenders. Laura raised her own toothbrush in salute.

"You're up early." Looking down at the dress shirt she was still wearing, rumpled from sleep, falling to mid-thigh. "And I'm seriously underdressed."

LaFontaine rinsed out their mouth. "Perr woke up at six and remembered that classes are set to start back on Monday. She signed up for Introduction to Ichthyology with me, so I promised I'd help her pick up the course materials."

"But doesn't that have a lab where she'll have to--"

"Dissect?" There was a particular glint in LaFontaine's eyes. "Yeah, but I haven't told her about that yet. She thinks it's just going to be looking at fish in tanks. We shared a goldfish when we were seven, with a little plastic castle and everything."

"Well, that's cool that she could take a break from all her upper-level German classes." Laura gave her friend a nudge on the shoulder. "And pretty cool that she's taking it with you, right?" She pretended she didn't notice those cheeks getting red as LaF's hair.

"Yeah, well...." They studied themself in the mirror, pretending to debate whether their hair should sweep to the right or back. "And she wants to get there early to make sure the bookstore doesn't run out of Advanced Conversational German: Ready for Anything."

"Which'll probably be useful if we ever run into any more of those crazy villagers."

"Oh, don't worry, she's already rationalized the whole thing into one big linguistic misunderstanding. Which I think pretty clearly ignores the signs of trauma-induced psychosis."

Laura smiled, leaning back against the sink, talking in between brushes. "At least that's closer to the truth than what I had to tell my dad." Seeing the redhead's cocked eyebrow: "We skypped this morning. And I may or may not have told him I decided at the last minute to join the mountaineering club's annual reading week Sound of Music trek." Laura made a face. "I guess, if you think about it, the hills _were_ alive."

Lafontaine nodded conspiratorially. "But the real question is: does this mean Carmilla wore an outfit made out of floral curtains?"

At which point Laura sprayed her toothpaste all over the antique mirror.

Perry poked her head through the door on the other side of the bathroom, hair wrapped up in a towel after her shower. "Oh, Laura, you're up." She eyed the spattered mirror, which Laura was quickly wiping clean. "Is everything okay?"

LaFontaine was still chuckling. "Just discussing Carmilla's wardrobe."

"I thought she was going for a Gothic look with that vest."

Laura and LaFontaine stared at Perry for a moment -- stared at her standing there in a dress that looked as though it actually might've been made from curtains -- before breaking into giggles again. When the redhead recovered, they popped their suspenders, testing them. "Sorta does make you wonder who stayed in this dorm. Remind me to ask J.P."

Perry pursed her lips slightly. "Well, anyway, La-Fon-taine--" Perry said the name slowly, testing the syllables. Seeing the smile from the other red-head, she went on. "LaFontaine and I were just going to see if you wanted to go to the bookstore with us.

"Sure. And maybe you guys could help me check on Danny and Kirsch after."

Perry looked past Laura at the door behind her. "Do you think Carmilla would....?"

"Be bothered to wake up before noon? Not likely." The blonde threw an indulgent eyeroll in the sleeping girl's direction. "Also, not really keen on having her critique my reading list for Philosophy in Dark Times as insufficiently nihilistic."

LaFontaine hooked thumbs in suspenders and rocked back on their heels with a grin. "Philosophy, huh? Somebody's got it bad!"

Laura pouted in protest. "I do not! Have it bad, I mean. There's nothing wrong with trying to understand your...." She trailed off.

"Girlfriend?" LaFontaine supplied. "Pretty sure you're entitled to use the word after she dies for you."

"Well, we haven't really negotiated the whole...."

"Now, LaFontaine," Perry jumped in, sparing a look for the redhead even as she gave Laura a practiced pat on the shoulder. "I think we can all agree that sometimes these things can be confusing. Laura can define her relationship with the grumpy vampire cat any way she chooses, and we'll be here with ice cream and dental dams in the meantime. But for now, Laura needs pants and we all need textbooks and pencil cases." She shooed an open-mouthed Laura back towards her own room with instructions to meet them in the hall in five.

***

Laura backed out of the room, pulling the door quietly shut on the slumbering girl inside. She turned around and nearly ran into Danny.

"Oh my god, sorry, I didn't-- Wait, Danny?!" Small embraced tall. "You're okay! How did you know to--"

"Well, you _did_ do another video last night, so that was sort of a clue you were back."

"And, statistically speaking, there weren't that many habitable dorms to choose from." LaFontaine and Perry came into the hallway.

Danny turned and smiled, then furrowed her brow, looking from the redhead pair to Laura and back. "Okaaay. Did I miss the memo about this being crazy clothes day?"

They all looked down at their respective ensembles. Laura, who had managed to find some houndstooth trousers only two sizes too big to go with her shirt, answered for all of them. "Beggers can't be choosers in the Silas lost-and-found. And, trust me, it was an improvement over the Christmas sweaters."

"Oh you don't have to tell me." Seeing Laura's blank stare. "I saw the video, remember? Although, I do have to admit Carmilla's was inspired." She set a large duffel bag on the floor. "Anyway, I rounded up a few things from the sisters, in case you needed them."

"Gee, thanks, Danny! That's sweet!" Laura looked down at her outfit. "And apparently very timely."

Danny smiled and shrugged. "I'm just glad you're okay. You know, what with...everything. I guess you left when the earthquakes started. I half-expected to get another one of those classic Hollis text messages." She mimicked pulling out her phone to read with a squint. "Gingerbread house. Witch's oven. Come quick!"

"I know, everything was just so crazy...." Laura ran her hand back through her hair, blowing out a breath as she remembered the roller coaster of events and emotions leading up to their hasty departure. "And, believe me, if I'd had reception when we were being chased by torches and pitchforks, I probably would've--"

LaF chimed in as Danny's eyebrow shot skyward. "There was a cannibalistic Mrs. Klaus and some vampire-related hysteria."

"Okay." Danny looked from LaFontaine back to Laura. "Glad to see Carmilla was making friends."

"Well, it wasn't entirely her--"

But Perry clapped her hands. "Alrighty then! Don't mean to rush anyone, but perhaps we could swap stories of what-we-did-over-winter-break _after_ we find our textbooks...."

"Hey, you know what, you guys go ahead. I'll catch up." Laura waved them off and watched them disappear down the stairs, leaving her with Danny, alone, in the hallway. Laura gave the taller girl a quick once over, but saw no broken bones or obvious wounds. "Are you sure you're okay? It was getting pretty rumbly here when we left, and I didn't have time to find Kirsch or you...."

Danny watched Laura's eyes, then looked down towards the end of the hallway, where the window revealed a morning gray and overcast. "Yeah, it really wasn't much. Just a few more aftershocks and then it was quiet. Pretty sure Kirsch has been holed up with the Zetas somewhere, and I think a lot of people just left for break."

"Really? That seems sort of anticlimactic."

Blue eyes swung back around to find Laura's brown eyes and now-furrowed brow. "Hey, maybe we could...?" Danny gestured to the closed door behind Laura.

The blonde turned around like she'd forgotten the door was there and had her hand on the knob before she stopped herself. "Umm...Carmilla's kind of still asleep." She saw Danny wince slightly and quickly went on. "Yeah, you know, nothing like a vampire for a roommate!" And now Laura winced at herself. "But, anyway, there's a fire escape at the other end of the hall where we could talk, if you--"

But Danny was already kneeling, fumbling inside the duffel bag. "Actually, I really should get to training, but I almost forgot...." She pulled out a box wrapped in brown paper and handed it quickly to Laura. "I was supposed to give this to Carmilla, but seeing as how she's here and...." She waved her hand in the direction of the closed door and then saw Laura's mouth open to ask a thousand questions. "Some of the Summers wanted to get her something, you know, for what she did with the Anglerfish and the Dean. It's nothing, really. Anyway, I've got to...I'll see you." She pointed back towards the stairs and was following her own direction before Laura could stop her.

 


	4. Chapter Four

_"So if anyone has seen anything strange--anything at all--message me. Stay safe, Silas."_

_Laura gave her best serious smile before reaching forward to click the camera off._

"Don't you think you're just asking for trouble?" Carmilla came in and tossed her bag on her bed, a few books spilling out.

"Just because it seems quiet out there doesn't mean it really is. I mean, this is the same university with a supremely old vampire for a Dean, a regular practice of sacrificing coeds, and an ancient Sumarian demigod in a pit under the theater building." She paused as Carmilla sidled up behind her and linked her arms loosely around Laura's neck. "Help me remember again why I came back for spring semester?"

Carmilla rested her chin on the blonde's shoulder, voice thrumming in Laura's ear. "Because you can't resist a mystery."

"Oh, is that it?" Laura ran her fingertips across Carmilla's wrists and up her arms, feeling the brunette shiver. "I thought it was because of the pie." She kept her voice light, but snuck a glance out of the corner of her eye. Carmilla's eyes were closed and a lazy smile played at the corner of her lips.

"Well, your diet _is_ atrocious."

Laura felt the lips brushing her ear, felt more than heard the slow rumble of the other girl's words, and closed her own eyes with a sigh. "Says the one who steals my cookies all day."

"Ah, yes. You've found my Achilles heel."

"And here I thought sugar was maybe the just only thing keeping you from total lethargy."

Hearing no retort, Laura ventured one eyelid open and then the other, finding Carmilla's own eyes open and looking past her to the silver cuff lying, half-unwrapped, on top of a stack of textbooks. She watched Carmilla reach around her to pick it up and trace the intricate work of twisting vines and animals and the lozenge of garnet in the center of it all.

"Do you like it?" Laura spoke to the side of Carmilla's face as the other girl leaned over her shoulder, admiring the piece. Laura slipped the cuff around that pale wrist and watched Carmilla turn it to catch the light. "It seemed like something you would like." Laura wished in that moment that she'd been the one to find it for Carmilla. She felt the crumpled note in her pocket, written in that unfamiliar, vaguely old-fashioned hand: _For Carmilla, in recognition_ (and the post-script, smaller, at the bottom addressed to _Laura, please accept our gratitude for convincing Carmilla to accept this gift_.) She had smiled at that, wondering how the Summers knew the brunette so well.

Feeling Carmilla's brown eyes on her, Laura looked up, leaving the note where it was, only a little guilty that the stunning girl next to her would think the bracelet was a gift from her instead. But even that little guilt was quickly washed away as Carmilla's lips found the space where jaw meets neck, and kissed along that jawline, spinning Laura's desk chair slowly around so that her lips found Laura's mouth and stopped the words and thoughts there. Laura felt Carmilla lean in, and she wound her hands in that mane to pull her closer still. She heard the computer pinging behind her and didn't care. She heard the chair squeak under her and only hoped it didn't collapse. She felt Carmilla pull back slightly and surged forward to close the distance again. And then stopped when she saw Carmilla's furrowed brow.

Laura pulled back, suddenly self-conscious. "Is everything...?"

Carmilla was looking down at her clothes. "What _are_ you wearing?"

Laura picked at the Silas t-shirt and sweats she'd pulled from the bag Danny'd left. "This? It's just some old stuff Danny dropped off this morning." She bumped her leg against Carmilla's, daring a little half-smile. "And maybe I didn't realize you liked the Katherine Hepburn look so much."

Carmilla swallowed the memory of that sweet, achingly feminine skin encased in too-big pinstripe last night, one rolled-up cuff on the arm Laura had thrown across her in sleep. How she'd watched the other girl until dawn, afraid to close her eyes.

She swallowed that memory, blinked to find that this was just a dormroom in daylight, and shrugged. "Hey, I just wanted fair warning if you've joined the pep squad, cutie." She leaned back against Laura's desk and picked at the flaking veneer. "Or maybe Lady Diana talked you into the archery club."

"What, Danny? No. She was just being nice. Also, those archery girls are kind of intense. I heard most of them even bring hunting dogs to class." She paused, glancing over at her slouching roommate. "Please tell me your beef with Danny isn't just a cat/dog thing."

Carmilla sniffed her disdain for the question, but softened as Laura stood in front of her, bare feet inside heavy black boots, leaning forward until their hips almost touched. Laura's fingers played with the buttons on Carmilla's vest. Carmilla watched those slim fingers work up the confidence to slip one button throught its hole, then the next. She sucked in her stomach at the contact as Laura made it through all the buttons and slid her hands inside. So warm! She focused on those hands, the girl in front of her to keep her here and--

"Hey, Laura, did you still want to go--" LaFontaine was halfway through the sentence before they were even in the room. "Oops. Hey, didn't mean to interrupt."

Laura yanked her hands out.

The brunette rolled her eyes, and flounced down on her bed, vest still flapping open to reveal ivory skin and the black lace of her bra. "Is it too late to wish I'd held on to that sword?"

"Carm!" Laura swatted at her arm, motioning to LaFontaine to come in. They, unlike Laura, had stuck with the day's original outfit, and looked ready for anything. Laura squinted: were they holding climbing tackle? At which point, Laura remembered what it was LaF was coming to ask her about. "Oh, you know, actually, maybe I could just swing by later and--"

Carmilla let out a sigh, picking up a book, feeling the weight of the late afternoon sun still dragging on her. "Let me guess. Laura thought it would be a good idea to go take a look at the fish god in the pit. Maybe poke it in the eye for good measure."

Laura had the decency to look guilty, but only slightly.

Carmilla just shook her head. "I see now that my earlier comment was too late. You've already sent Trouble an engraved invitation."

LaFontaine turned out to have not just climbing tackle, but also a pickaxe and bicycle helmet with a miner's light taped to the front, all of which they dumped on the end of Laura's bed. "Aren't you even the slightest bit curious as to what's going on there?"

"Umm...how long have you known me now?"

"Carm, LaF's right. I mean we've heard that there's a new administration, but this whole place is ground zero for the Anglerfish. The gates to the university, that Latin inscription...." She glanced over at her computer. "And, yep, the messages about the weird are already coming in." She leaned over to read from the screen: "The Alchemy Club has been experimenting with bioluminescent bats. All the lab mice have vanished. There's a chunk of melting snow that looks like Archduke Ferdinand on the north quad." She didn't need to see it to know the look she was getting from Carmilla. "Okay, I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg. The point is that it probably won't be long before strange things start happening again, so we at least need to know what we're dealing with."

Carmilla looked up from the pages of The Eumenides to find Laura, sitting in that familiar place in front of her computer, watching her with those expectant Laura eyes. "Well, I suppose it didn't kill me the first time." Carmilla reluctantly put the book aside. "'Once more unto the breach.'"


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Five chapters and one review. Yikes.

Because LaFontaine was still wary about involving Perry in the normal that was potentially para, they had to wait until Perry had gone before they could go. Gone to set up the spring semester kickoff party for the students who were now drifting back onto campus from the break -- fewer of them, rearranged in the salvageable dorms, but still, according to Perry, in need of pizza and icebreakers and welcome kits of junk food and condoms.

They had to wait, so LaFontaine helped Perry wrap up the welcome kits and gave her a sneak peek of their Ichthyology reading, feeling like this was a normal night at a normal university shared between two normal people who had known each other so long that putting aside the uncertainties of things like pronouns and status was like taking off your shoes at the front door.

They had to wait, so Laura contributed a few of last semester's stakes to LaF's gear and tried on the helmet with the lamp in front. She shone the light on Carmilla, who was back to being fully engrossed in Aeschylus' drama and only deigned to raise an eyebrow until, after the fifth blinking repetition of _hey hot stuff_ in morse code, the vampire shot across the room like a rocket, wrapped up Laura around the waist and fell with her, giggling and kissing, on a pile of demon-hunting gear they hardly noticed.

So by the time the three set out, it was early evening. There had been a general consensus that it was better to do this when the sun was not completely gone from the sky. Checking in on a possibly maimed and certainly angry demigod called for some light, at least.

***

_"Oh, for crying out-- Laura, really?"_

_The blonde swung the camera from the quiet hulk of the Lustig building to Carmilla's scowl. "What?"_

_"Um, the camera?" Carmilla draped an arm over Laura's shoulder and tapped the side of the little handheld with a pale fingertip. The silver cuff dangled from her wrist. "Is it really necessary to record our search for horror beyond imagining?"_

_"Hey, I had to check out the camera for War Correspondents 101, and this is a heck of a lot better than carrying my laptop and webcam out here." The camera panned back over the quiet campus behind them. "And anyway, the students at Silas deserve to know what's under their theater building, especially since the new administration seems to think that rolls of caution tape and a 'Pardon our dust' sign is a sufficient response." Laura paused, and then: "Ooh, hey, Danny! Over here!" The tall redhead appeared in frame, looking ready for anything in gray cargo pants and army green thermal._

_Carmilla threw up her hands. "Silly me. And here I was thinking that starring in the Blair Fish Project was going to be the worst part of my evening."_

_Danny rolled her eyes. "Hey, Overbite, I was actually going to agree with you." She met raised eyebrow with raised eyebrow. "Yeah, I know, right." Then turning back to Laura: "Gotta say, Hollis, tying up a hand with a camcorder, probably not the smartest move if there really is something still down there."_

_"But you yourself told me that, aside from a few aftershocks a while ago, there hadn't been any sign of the Anglerfish. So this is probably just more like your garden-variety, non-life-threatening, archeological survey. That should be documented."_

_The camera watched as Carmilla and Danny looked at Laura, then back at each other. Carmilla spoke first: "Okay, Goliath, you and me will take point, then." Danny only nodded, smiling a "no, thanks" at LaFontaine's offer of a pickaxe, pointing to the butt of a stake poking out of the thigh pocket on her pants. No one bothered offering Carmilla any weapons because they knew she didn't need them._

_Laura gave her motley crew her best firmly reassuring smile, gave the camera a thumbs-up, and turned her headlamp on the Lustig building entrance._

***

_"Well, what do you know? Nothing."_

_"Nothing?"_

_"Really, nothing?"_

_"Nothing. See, I told you things had been quiet."_

_Carmilla, Laura, LaFontaine, and Danny all stood at the edge of the pit, looking down._

_Laura turned the camera on the vampire next to her as if it could record what had happened before: Carmilla shifting from cat to girl after pulling Laura back from the edge, the sad smile as she'd taken the heroic leap it hadn't seemed possible she could survive. And yet all the camera saw that was that Carmilla had survived and was here. Laura reached out to grab her hand and squeeze. "Maybe you really killed it."_

_"Maybe." Carmilla was lost in thought, staring into that empty pit. The camera followed her gaze and found no ancient evil, no Will, no Dean...no bodies even. Just strata of rock disappearing into the dark. A few spent cherry bombs on outcroppings on the way down._

_The camera panned back to Carmilla, who was stepping back from the edge, dark eyes narrow and unreadable, the curtain of her hair falling partly across her face. Laura's hand stretched to keep ahold of the other girl, but she stepped out of reach. From a few feet away, Danny watched._

_Then LaFontaine was yelling and pointing, and the camera swung wildly to find their head disappearing into the pit. Laura ran forward and saw them rapelling down, and her headlamp shone on the red hair descending. Zooming past them, the camera caught the glint of a steel hilt and the dark hole of a light-eating edge on one of the rocky ledges far down._

_"Hey, that's where we found....!" And Danny was yelling too, running to the other side of the pit where the side walls offered a crude, slim staircase down into the dark._

_But even as the redheads raced each other down, there was a roar, and a shadow crossed over them so that they all stopped and stared at the inky shape of a large cat landing neatly on the ledge with the sword, silver and garnet shining against the velvet of one leg. They watched as it picked the weapon up in its mouth and, turning, bared its teeth around the blade._

 

 


End file.
